Cycle helmet saved Daniel's life

A CYCLIST knocked from his bike in a hit-and-run collision with a car has
said he only survived a because he was wearing a helmet.

Daniel Saunders, of Redhouse, was cycling home from work at around 7pm when
he was hit by a car, which was turning out of Penhill from Grafton Road into
Cricklade Road.

The 27-year-old hit the bonnet with his head before landing on the road in
the path of oncoming traffic but a car full of Swindon Town football fans
managed to stop and come to his aid.

The vehicle that hit Daniel raced away back into the Penhill estate and is
thought to be a hatchback car, possibly a Peugeot 106.

Daniel, who escaped with only cuts and was treated at the roadside, said:
"It could have been much worse - I don't know how I didn't break anything.

"I was just cycling along Cricklade Road and I had all my gear on - hi-vis
jacket, lights and helmet. I couldn't have been more visible if I tried.

"He literally turned right and smashed straight into me. I hit the front of
his car on the offside, rolled onto the bonnet.

"I landed on the back of my head and the helmet took the brunt of the
force - it saved me.

"I was thrown off on to the road and a car coming the other way stopped.
Three people on their way to the Swindon game got out to help me.

"The guy shouted that he would pull over but then he turned back into
Penhill and just drove off.

"I jut cannot understand it - for all they knew I was hospital bound. When a
man is lying on the ground after a serious incident, and this was a proper
crash, I don't know how anyone can drive away from that."

Daniel, who uses his bike to get to work in South Marston, phoned police
himself from the scene but it was only when an ambulance crew requested they
attend that any officers were dispatched.

A police spokesman said that the call was taken in the evening and it was
discussed with the injured person that he would was not badly hurt and he
would go to Gablecross the next day to report the incident.

It was only when the ambulance called saying the injuries might be worse
than first thought that a police officer attended the scene.

Daniel said he decided not to call his wife Rebecca, a nurse, because he
thought she might panic and instead his brother John left Swindon Town's
game with Shrewsbury early to come to his aid.

"My bike is completely trashed," he said. "That's what I'm most annoyed
about because it was a present from my granddad two years ago.

"I don't expect the people to be caught - police went looking for them in
Penhill but called me late Tuesday night to say they had had no luck."

Anyone with information about the incident should call Wiltshire Police on
101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/n...Daniel_s_life/

QUOTE:
Oooh! We've got lots of shiny new bike stuff to show you from Pro, Cervelo,
San Marco and Bell, and we'll be adding to this later in the day so check
back in a bit for even more goodness.

Why the influx of new kit? We've been visiting iceBike (lower case i, upper
case B: don't blame us, blame them), the in-house expo of Madison, the UK's
biggest bike and components distributor. They've got some great brands and a
lot of the new products have just arrived in this country for the first
time.

CONTINUES...

http://road.cc/content/news/53280-up...iny-bike-stuff

--
Simon Mason